


moondust

by mooniesqueakeroonie



Series: Primal Shuri Saga [3]
Category: FFXIV, Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, F/M, the series got out of order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:47:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooniesqueakeroonie/pseuds/mooniesqueakeroonie
Summary: The moon calls to her and he longed to never have her leave his sight again.
Relationships: Warrior of Light/Estinien Wyrmblood, estinien x shuri, estinien x wol
Series: Primal Shuri Saga [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1752694
Kudos: 4
Collections: Hex's Self-Indulgent Stories





	moondust

The emptiness woke him before his mind was fully aware. The grogginess of sleep left him once he realized that the warmth that usually occupied his arms was not there. His heart all but jumped in his throat for the first time, accompanied with the most foul taste coating his tongue as he jolted upright from the bed that he shared with his lover. 

She was nowhere within their bedchamber, within his line of sight. His throat only tightened as he lunged from the bed, rushing toward the adjacent dining and cooking space where they spent many hours of their time. Her name rang in his head, a desperate chant to will her to manifest before him. 

_Shuri. Shuri. **Shuri**!_

The moment he thrust himself past the front door, leaving it ajar, did he glimpse her, standing atop the jagged rocks whose surface the waves beat against. The gales of wind, the signs of an approaching storm, whipped her hair about as she stood there as though contemplating. He refused to let her thoughts wander with the violent tides. His body moved with fierce instinct and fear, the desperation in his blood that commanded every limb, every nerve, that before he knew it, his hand gripped her wrists like a shackle, his free arm binding about her middle as her name left his lips firmly. “ _Shuri!_ ” 

Mismatched eyes blinked furiously, as though hyper aware of his presence they sought out his face. “Estinien…?” His name slipped off of her tongue in a question, as though wondering why he gripped her so. 

“Have you lost your mind? What in the hells are you doing out here?”

“I…I don’t…I wanted to see the moon…” 

Shuri’s voice faltered and the desperate cloying scent of worry slowly left Estinien as he brushed rogue strands from the Xaela’s face, his fingers stopping just so along the beginnings of the black marks that adorned her skin. 

Shuri had gone to Othard with the Dark Knight after she and Estinien had an argument. She was gone for days upon end, with no word to her location as even her closest comrades and fellow Warriors of Light had lost track of her. Guilt devoured Estinien from within his bowels; Shuri no longer had Hydaelyn’s Blessing, even though she said she was still a Warrior of Light without it. 

The knight returned with an unconscious Shuri in his arms days after traces of them were lost, with the latter bearing strange, shimmering markings on her body. The dragoon insisted upon taking his lover home, aiming to question her of the ordeal once she had awaken. 

That was two moons ago. 

Whilst Shuri was gone, Estinien was nearly driven mad with attempts to busy himself, to ignore the pangs in his heart at his lover’s prolonged absences–more so in the domesticated senses upon her return. Now, with Shuri awake, gazing up at him with confusion and worry, Estinien could not find the energy within him to be cross with her. 

“You should have woken me,” he chastised her in a hushed voice. “If you’d gotten injured, whatever would you have done then?”

“Pray to the Dusk Mother, I suppose…” Thought it would seem to have been meant in jest, a faraway expression overtook Shuri’s countenance, as though she were seeing something from within and not outside of her body. Brows furrowed, Estinien pressed a hand against Shuri’s face. “Is aught amiss, little princess?” he asked in a low voice.

His touch seemed to have brought Shuri from her reverie. “No, nothing. Let us return to bed. I am fine now.”

Estinien’s gaze narrowed. “Are you?”

Shuri blinked once, twice, before nodding. “I am. Simply need to sleep a little more, is all.”

She knew he didn’t believe her, she could sense as much. However, Estinien was not going to push the issue further; instead, he swept the silver-haired Xaela into his arms to cross the short distance from the beating ocean to their cottage.

~~————————————————————————————————-~~

“She has been sleeping throughout the morning. Has she ever done this before?” The rare lilt of concern was evident in Estinien’s voice as he sought council from the ones who knew Shuri best, having all gather at the Congregation.

Kirishimi, Yume, Illya, and Laurelis had come, unaccompanied by their counterparts, at Estinien’s behest once word was sent of Shuri’s return and condition. While sleeping in of itself was not a concern, sleeping for a long period of time for a morning person such as Shuri was a tad disconcerting. 

“Has she made mention at all of what happened when she was missing?” inquired Illya softly. The Lalafellin maiden’s brows were furrowed in concern and concentration as the group’s skilled healer. Even she was aware of how Shuri was often rising with the sun and the lack of such energy was disconcerting.

Estinien shook his head, arms folded over his chest. “Hardly a word. She seems adamant to avoid discussing it at all costs.”

“Ye had another argument, didn’ ye?” Kirishimi quirked an eyebrow toward the Elezen dragoon. It was hardly a secret that the two had a strangely competitive, sibling relationship. However, Kiri was hardly a woman to mince her words and even Estinien would not expect anything different from the quicksilver-haired Hyur. 

“Before she had gone, aye,” confirmed Estinien, to which Yume narrowed her eyes. 

“You reminded her, did you not? Of Hydaelyn rescinding the blessing from her?” The bite in Yume’s tone was not hidden away in her flippancy, to which Laurelis patted the Raen’s shoulder.

“Come now,” the pinkette chided in her musical voice. “We are here to help our friend.”

“Who is strong enough to handle her business, with or without being Hydaelyn’s chosen.”

“We know this, but this is not the time to drudge this fact up. Shuri is home now and, by the sounds of it, something could very well be affecting her health.”

“And ye are certain that the lass hasn’ been ‘erself as of late?” Kiri directed her attention to Estinien nonchalantly. 

“You four know Shuri best.” Estinien heaved a sigh, as though receiving a headache from presenting what little social grace he had to seek assistance for his beloved. “There are still facets of her that I have yet to witness. I have yet to be at her side for as long as you all.”

“She could have gone through quite an ordeal, as the Dark Knight may have told you,” Laurelis mentioned, keeping her tone kind. “Shuri could very well just require a few more days of rest before she is back to her usual self. You will see, Estinien. It may be naught to worry about.”

Despite the echoing reassurances following Laurelis’s words, it did little to loosen the growing knot within Estinien. 

- ~~————————————————————-~~

Upon his return to the shared seaside cottage, Estinien paused just outside of the door. An unfamiliar, yet mouthwatering scent wafted from the open window and the Elezen male pushed the door open and crossed the threshold inside. 

In the kitchen was Shuri, stirring some sort of dish in a giant pot over the stove. She was humming, a tune known to her but mysterious to him, before Estinien drew closer. “When did you awake, Shuri?”

“A little over an hour or so,” answered Shuri, her voice light. “You were gone and I had started to get a little hungry, so I went to buy some ingredients to make a stew.”

“You should be resting, Shuri. I can take over.”

“I can still cook, you silly man.”

It was as though last night were a dream and she had woken up normally. As if the events prior had never happened and she was greeting him no differently than if she had returned from her duties as the Warrior of Light. Estinien frowned slightly. “ Shuri…are you sure you are faring well?”

Shuri glanced up at Estinien, a soft smile touching her lips. “Of course I am. I just needed to sleep a little longer. Nhaama knows I did so little of it–”

Her words faltered, as if saying her deity’s name halted her thoughts, as Shuri lifted a hand to her temple. Her countenance had changed, her features twisting into a wince of pain as she doubled over the stove, the ladle clattering onto the pristine, stone countertop. 

“Shuri-!” Estinien’s arms were around her instantly, keeping the Xaela maiden steady before she shook her head and lowered her hand from her temple. “Ah…I do not know what’s come over me. Perhaps I need a drink of water…”

“No, little princess, what you need is to lay back down. I will prepare the meal and drink for you,” chided the dragoon, pressing an index finger to her lips as soon as he suspected her objection. “I will not bend on this matter, Shuri. You are still recovering and need to rest as much as you are able.”

Shuri exhaled before nodding before Estinien lowered his finger from her lips. “Good girl. Now, go and rest.”

Wordlessly, Shuri walked away, opting to recline on the sofa in their living area instead of crossing the distance to their shared bedroom. Yet even her obedience was concerning, for she would at least bit out an objection before succumbing. 

And yet, Estinien still could not bear to broach the subject of what had happened to Shuri at the Steppe. 

Not yet.


End file.
